to promise the world [1/4]
Title (if available): to promise the world
Pairing/Main characters: Kai/D.O
Word Count: 25,515 words
Warning(s): slight drug use, minor character death(?)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: a story about getting lost, falling in love, and hopping inside taxi cabs.
Author's Note: Another crosspost because I want to feel organized lmao. You can find the playlists here: to promise the world / tu me manques (b-side)
P A R I S , F R A N C E
✈︎
Kyungsoo does not see this coming.
As soon as the clouds shroud in the sky and the rain starts to pour, it becomes Kyungsoo’s signal to run for cover, using his hands as a makeshift shield to keep him from getting wet. Being in the worst of circumstances, this, of course, does not help.
It had only been an hour ago since Kyungsoo stood in front of the Eiffel Tower, bidding it goodbye. The famous monument he had once seen in photos and in films seemed too good to be true, but when the storm decides to take over the clear skies and invades the city of Paris, it only proves things otherwise.
Kyungsoo learns this the hard way, under the roof of a restaurant he can’t pronounce with soaked clothes and a very wet backpack. He has approximately two hours to spare before he flies back to Seoul, and another five minutes to think about how to get to the airport in time.
At this point, Kyungsoo thinks the best decision is to hail a cab, only this would bring even more problems because (1) Even if he could run in the rain to find a taxi stand, he’s about thirty meters away from the closest one, (2) He could try calling for a nearby taxi stand, but doesn’t have the slightest idea of where he is right now, and (3) He can’t speak french.
The third problem is understandable. The first two, admittedly, are a result due to lack of preparation and plain stupidity.
The rain continues to fall hard and heavy, and the chances of a cab stopping for Kyungsoo under this drastic weather become zero to none. There are no cabs driving around the area. He doesn’t even see people running in the rain without an umbrella over their heads. If Kyungsoo leaves his current position right now, he just might be one of the first.
The sky darkens and time continues to move, but Kyungsoo refuses to stay in one place. He waits for the rain to lessen and prepares to leave the restaurant.
He charges into the rain as he pulls the hood of his jacket over his head, thinking why hadn’t he thought of this sooner.
He runs mindlessly down the streets-taking left and right turns down sidewalks-but he still has no clue as to where he is. He tries to retrace his steps from when he was last in front of the Eiffel Tower and along Avenue Gustave Eiffel. His mind betrays him when he recalls nothing after that except travelling on foot with no destination. He could use his phone and search for a map, but he didn’t want to risk getting it wet and losing a phone in the process. He’s tried asking locals about where he is, but they don’t seem to understand Korean all too well and walk past him instead.
He could think of several other ways. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Kyungsoo was bordering the line between desperate and hopeless.
Kyungsoo’s mind yells at him in panic, asking a question that’s been at the back of his head as to why he even thought of travelling six thousand miles away from Seoul.
He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. Panicking wasn’t going to help solve anything at this moment.
Kyungsoo stands under the rain doing absolutely nothing. What he does, however, is sits things through on the edge of a sidewalk. Who knows, maybe a cab will just magically appear in front of him.
Whether it was coincidence or fate, a cab passes in front of him.
He doesn’t complain about the cab almost running his feet over and only missing by an inch. The moment he sees the window of opportunity, he seizes it.
Kyungsoo stands on his feet and waves frantically as the cab drives away from him. He runs with his heart beating fast in his chest and the adrenaline rush taking over his body when he chases it to the middle of the street.
There are only a number of people who notice Kyungsoo, but he couldn't care less. The most important thing to him right now is making it to the airport in time for his flight. So is his life, except Kyungsoo doesn’t think about that when he catches up to the side of the cab, breaking into a sprint and lunging forward. The vehicle comes to a complete stop, meters away from a possible accident.
He’s sure he heard someone scream having witnessed the scene, but as soon as the cab had stopped in front of him, there wasn’t a lot of time he could waste.
Kyungsoo quickly steps inside the cab without any more thought. The leather seat feels comfortable when he leans his back against it, a loud sigh escaping his lips as he closes his eyes. He tries to drown out all other noise, especially the taxi man yelling-perhaps cursing him to hell-to breathe in his temporary peace.
Until another voice caves in.
“You do realize that the red light on top of the cab means it’s taken, don’t you?”
Kyungsoo turns to the voice, the one next to him inside the taxi. He can’t make out the man’s face inside the cab, but the faint light from the sky is enough for him to register the badges on his uniform and the cap resting on top of his lap.
The taxi stays still in the middle of the road, raindrops pattering against the car windows. Kyungsoo doesn’t move.
“Are you going to ask me to leave?” he asks.
“That depends,” the man says. “Where are you heading to?”
“The airport.”
“Which one?” he inquires.
“Charles de Gaulle,” Kyungsoo answers.
There’s a brief moment of silence before the taxi man speaks again.
“Ou voulez-vous aller maintenant?”
He doesn’t understand what he’s asking, but he waits nervously for the other man’s reply. The man is unfazed as he looks back at him, but he doesn’t miss the way he stares questioningly at him and his drenched clothes.
“L'aéroport charles de gaulle, s'il vous plaît,” he says, eyes unwavering from his.
The taxi man looks over his shoulder-to Kyungsoo and to the man next to him-before stepping on the gas pedal. He drives.
Kyungsoo feels his body give away from exhaustion, but he can’t help but smile even in his tired state. Instantly, he laughs. He laughs because he was unprepared, and only he can have such terrible luck. He glances at the man beside him and mutters a soft thank you.
He doesn’t stay awake long enough to hear the man’s response, and before he knows it, the world disappears in front of him.
S E O U L , S O U T H K O R E A
✈︎
“Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”
They are settled on chairs outside Kyungsoo’s balcony when the cool night air brushes over their skin, beer cans even cooler in their hands from which Baekhyun had pulled out from his plastic bag.
It doesn’t happen often, but Kyungsoo’s neighbour would knock on his apartment door in the evening to have a drink or two under the stars (Kyungsoo happened to have a really good view of them from his unit).
Kyungsoo had just moved in from his foster home the first time it happened. It was both intruding and annoying, but it was a tiny apartment and Baekhyun’s presence was too loud for the silence. It took a great deal of patience for Kyungsoo to come around, and eventually, he didn’t seem to mind-or more like he tolerated it.
Tonight is not any different. Kyungsoo had finished preparing for tomorrow’s Jeju trip when Baekhyun knocked on his door, except tonight not only does treat him with a beer, he also asks to meet up with him at Jeju and camp out together.
Kyungsoo takes a sip of his drink before asking, “Is there a reason why I should?”
“There are two, actually,” Baekhyun says before enumerating, “First is you being my friend.”
The taste is bitter on Kyungsoo’s tongue, but that’s not why he frowns.
“Don’t you have other friends going with you?’ he bemuses.
“Just a few, plus my boyfriend who’ll be staying overnight on pilot duty. There’s always room for one more, which is why I’m asking you to join us. As a matter of fact, I actually think you’d get along great with them.”
“I’m not so sure about that. It doesn’t look like we’re getting along right now,” Kyungsoo teases.
There’s nothing to say about Baekhyun calling him his ‘friend’, but they weren’t exactly unfamiliar to each other either. They lived in the same building-not to mention Baekhyun living right below his apartment unit. Kyungsoo likes to think he’s the closest thing to an extrovert life. He’s not so bad, but maybe it’s because Kyungsoo had no one else. They shared similar thoughts about most things, and he was a fairly logical person to talk to. If trust was a main factor to friendship, then maybe they were friends after all.
“The second reason might help you change your mind,” Baekhyun says.
“Which is?”
“You’re alone.”
Kyungsoo laughs. That doesn’t help at all.
“All the more reason why I shouldn’t join you,” Kyungsoo tells him. “I’m always alone.”
“And how’d that go again? Do you want to tell me again how that worked out for you in Paris?”
Baekhyun knew most stories about his recent trip: from how he lost his way in the middle of a storm, all the way down to reaching the airport in half-dry clothes and racing to the terminal fifteen minutes before his flight. The more Kyungsoo thought about it, the more he thinks his circumstances had been far more better than not arriving at all. He would have missed his flight if it weren’t for that lucky cab ride and the stranger he shared it with.
Kyungsoo looks over to the side to spot a yellow umbrella leaning at the wall of his balcony.
“I did have help, you know.”
Out of all the things he mentioned to Baekhyun, he’d left out one important detail. It was when he woke up to the taxi man’s relentless screaming did he realize that the stranger had ran off. He didn’t know the stranger’s name. He couldn’t even remember his face. The only memory of him was the yellow umbrella he’d left with him inside the cab, a note lazily stuck to it in clear handwriting:
I’m gonna need the umbrella and ask you to pay me back someday.
For now, don’t be late.
“I know that,” Baekhyun says, downing his can of beer and swallowing before he continues to speak. “I just think that you should stop running away from it. We all need a little help sometimes, Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo disagrees, but doesn’t mention it. He knows he can make it on his own, and he will continue to do so.
Words are left unsaid as they continue to stare into the flurry of stars lighting up the cold Seoul night.
S E O G W I P O , J E J U
✈︎
Kyungsoo emerges from the airport terminal minutes after landing and swiftly passing immigration. He exits the gate, tugging both straps of his backpack with his hands and hugging them tightly to his chest as he makes his way over to a taxi stand he spots at the corner. He’s the first in line but doesn’t see a single taxi parked, so instead of leaving, he stays in his place and uses this time to bring out a map and see which places to visit.
Just as he reads a tourist guide at the bottom of the map, another man approaches the line and stands next to him.
Kyungsoo’s head shoots up on instinct, and turns to see a tall brunet dressed in a pilot’s uniform. He doesn’t know him, but he wonders why the pilot is suddenly staring at him with a deliberate smile present on his face. He thinks nothing of it at first, quietly turning back to his map. Seconds pass when the man’s stare continues to pierce through him from peripheral view, and it makes him feel uncomfortable.
Kyungsoo lifts his head once more, looking back at him.
“Can I… help you with something?” Kyungsoo asks, conscious from the attention he’s getting. “Is there something on my face?”
The pilot chuckles, but the accusatory look on his face entails something more. It almost seems as if he recognises him and had stolen something from him that he needed back.
“No,” he answers, “I just couldn't help but notice how you look more dried up than I remember.”
Kyungsoo’s brows furrow in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“I see that you actually did make it to your flight.”
Kyungsoo does not follow at all. The pilot gauges Kyungsoo’s face for a reaction, but finds none.
“Paris, three weeks ago?” the pilot reminds. “The storm, wet clothes? Charles de Gaulle?”
Realization dawns on Kyungsoo, and his eyes almost grow double in size.
Don’t be late.
“Do you really not remember?”
A curse slips out from Kyungsoo’s mouth in disbelief. It’s quick and low, but it’s enough for the pilot to hear and cock an eyebrow at him. Kyungsoo realizes this and quickly blurts out, “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that-it really didn’t mean anything, I just..” He sighs. “I am so sorry. I honestly didn’t think I’d come across you here.”
It was the truth, Kyungsoo didn’t think he’d be able to come across him again. Ever.
A wave of laughter breaks from his face and he grins. “I’m a pilot, if it helps. Let’s just say you’re most likely to see me anywhere. I thought I was setting myself up for embarrassment when you couldn’t remember.”
If there was anyone who should be embarrassed, it was Kyungsoo. He didn’t think he would be able to forget that day without wanting the ground to swallow him up.
“It’s not exactly something I would easily forget,” Kyungsoo says.
“Absolutely,” he agrees. “I mean, I don’t think I’ll be able to forget the face of a cabnapper.”
“Did you just call me a ‘cabnapper’?” Kyungsoo asks, slightly offended. “It was an honest mistake. I don’t even think that’s a word.”
“It is now,” he teases, “but hey, I was just trying to be funny, okay? I guess funny doesn’t really work for me.”
Kyungsoo is not easily amused, but he catches himself smiling at the pilot and offering his free hand out to him. “I’m Kyungsoo.”
The pilot takes glances between Kyungsoo and his hand, then nods in acknowledgement as he takes it.
“Well, Kyungsoo, call me Jongin,” he introduces, shaking his hand and bringing it back to his side. “Uhm, I’m not the kind of person to mention these kind of things, but bumping into you suddenly makes me think about the note I left.”
Kyungsoo wishes he’d forgotten about the note, but it was only fair that he paid him back.
“Of course. Let me just..” He leaves his sentence unfinished as he shrugs the strap of his backpack off from his shoulder, then seizes it in front of him and unzips the pocket. “I don’t have your umbrella right now, but I can pay for your ride.”
“You don't need to right now, you can do that once we get inside the cab.”
Kyungsoo stops to look at the implying smile resting on Jongin’s face.
“Oh,” Kyungsoo says, “I can't-”
“You know, the last time I saw you, you were alone,” Jongin tells him, “by any chance, are you meeting anyone today?"
Kyungsoo doesn't even need to think about his answer.
“No. I’m not meeting anyone,” he firmly says.
Jongin nods. ”Okay. And have you been to Jeju before? Do you have any plans or specific places you want to see?”
Kyungsoo glances at the map in his hand with a pout, his eyes landing back on the pilot.
"Far from it, actually,” he mutters.
“Good,” Jongin says. “I’m meeting people downtown to camp out with them until the end of my layoff.”
Kyungsoo has a feeling he’s not going to like where this is heading, but he listens. He wonders what Jongin is trying to get at when he keeps eye contact, lips forming something akin to a smile.
“You should come with me.”
“Wait, what?”
“If you're going to act spontaneous, it’d be nice to start downtown,” Jongin tells him. “Also, it’ll cost you less if you share a cab with me. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Kyungsoo wants to tell him that he didn't mind spending a little more. He could care less about the amount of cash he had in his pocket. He thinks it would be easy to avoid this as much as possible. All he needs to do is politely decline Jongin's offer and just pay for his ride.
“I don’t think I can,” Kyungsoo rejects immediately.
“Why not?” Jongin asks.
“I’m just not comfortable,” Kyungsoo tries to explain. Instead, it comes off as something unsure, as if it was something he frequently tells himself. But comfortable is familiar. He hopes it would be enough reason for Jongin to keep to himself, but the look on his face seems unconvinced.
“Comfortable, huh?” Jongin ponders, “That didn’t seem to be much of a problem at Paris when you were almost run over and coming inside my taxi.”
“Paris was different. It was-“
“An honest mistake, I get it.”
When they see a taxi soon approaching their direction, Kyungsoo suddenly feels cornered.
“I don’t want to force you into anything,” Jongin tells him, “but sometimes, you’ll find the most beautiful places outside of being comfortable.”
Kyungsoo casts Jongin an apologetic smile.
“I can still pay for your fare,” Kyungsoo offers, but before he can pull his wallet out of his backpack, Jongin already dismisses him with a wave.
“I change my mind.” Jongin says, “You don’t need to pay me anymore.”
When Kyungsoo looks up, Jongin is meters apart from him, glancing at the taxi approaching them before his eyes fall back on him. It’s surprising, how he’s never seen anyone gaze at him with such determination in their eyes.
“But if I open the door, will you come in?”
Kyungsoo tenses. Jongin stands meters away in front of him, holding a gaze that’s almost mistaken as something similar to longing.
"We’re not strangers, Kyungsoo,” Jongin tells him, "We don't need to be."
Words are caught in Kyungsoo’s throat as the anxiety kicks in just like every other time people try to help him. As soon as he thinks of doing something unconventional, the fear of change consumes him.
He doesn’t understand why someone he’s encountered only twice in his life had even the slightest bit of concern about the choices he makes. He didn’t need anyone to decide about what he was going to do with his life when he’d done it all on his own for twenty four years.
Kyungsoo stands frozen in his place saying nothing else. Seconds pass, and Jongin takes this as a sign to give up. He shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head as a sigh escapes his lips. Kyungsoo doesn’t miss the mild disappointment in Jongin’s eyes when he sends him a rueful grin.
Kyungsoo remembers Paris and the note Jongin had left him along with his yellow umbrella. He remembers Baekhyun in his balcony saying we all need a little more help sometimes.
The taxi comes to a full stop in front of them, and Kyungsoo watches as Jongin steps back from him.
But as soon as the pilot turns away, he thinks maybe it wouldn’t hurt to know why.
It takes a courageous amount of seconds before Kyungsoo steps out of his comfort zone, reaching for the door the same time Jongin does.
Jongin stills when Kyungsoo’s hand covers his own. He faces him slowly, regarding him with a surprised look.
“I um-” Kyungsoo has to clear his throat before continuing, “I mean, for what it’s worth, I do owe you.”
A smile grows on the pilot’s lips.
Seogwipo welcomes them in the southern part of Jeju-do. The town consists of run-down businesses and old buildings along the rocky coastline, lush parks punctuated within the city. He remembered when the taxi driver had sparked a conversation with Jongin on their way there, talking about common landmarks and famous sights. Kyungsoo had kept silent throughout the whole ride but listened enthusiastically.
They stand by the coast where boats are moored to the end of a dock, watching the cab drive away while locals and other tourists walk past them. The air smells like a combination of rocks and a bit of the ocean, the temperature being moderately warm on a late sunny afternoon.
Kyungsoo’s black cotton shirt sticks uncomfortably to his skin, but when he turns to glance at Jongin, beads of sweat trailing down the sides of his face all the way down to his neck, he doesn’t complain.
“They should be here anytime now,” Jongin tells him, tugging at the collar of his uniform several times to cool himself. “They’ve just finished visiting the botanical garden. It’ll take them a few more minutes to get here in walking distance.”
“Okay,” Kyungsoo says. The air is quiet again, but he would rather listen to the sound of small waves hitting the ocean than say anything else.
“Comfortable yet?” Jongin asks. “I didn’t think you’d take my offer.”
“It’s because I owed you,” Kyungsoo answers calmly.
“And I appreciate it. But it must have been hard for you to do what you did today.” Jongin glances with an apologetic smile. “You don’t seem to be easily persuaded in hanging out with people. I can’t help but wonder what really changed your mind.”
Kyungsoo wonders the same thing. Even now, he still wasn’t sure about why he had chosen to hop in the same cab with the pilot at the last minute, and for the second time.
“I guess I-”
“Hey, Captain!”
Kyungsoo can’t see the person calling from where he stood and with Jongin in front of him, but the voice almost sounds like the same person in his balcony just yesterday.
He doesn’t look when Jongin greets him back.
“Hey.”
“How’s it going? You brought someone with you?”
The voice is much closer now, and Kyungsoo has to take a sidestep to see the person looking back at him with disbelief written all over his face.
“Kyungsoo?”
Baekhyun brushes past Jongin and pulls him into a bear hug before he does anything to avoid it.
“I know we talked about Jeju last night, but you didn’t tell me you were planning to hit the south as well!” Baekhyun exclaims, pulling away from him to grip his shoulders in excitement.
“I wasn’t,” Kyungsoo grimaces. When he peers over Baekhyun’s shoulder, it’s only then that he notices a fresh face taking his place next to Jongin, the latter only staring back at him with an amused grin.
“I met him at the airport and invited him to camp out with us,” Jongin tells Baekhyun, eyes never leaving Kyungsoo’s. “He didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“We should probably get going then,” a voice suggests. The deep baritone standing next to Jongin is tall, with slightly narrow shoulders. “Sehun and Luhan found a clearing close to Seongsan. They’ve probably finished pitching the tents.”
“Huh,” Baekhyun says dumbfoundedly. He releases his hold on Kyungsoo then gives Jongin a pat on the back.
Jongin and the tall baritone walk straight ahead, leaving Kyungsoo to walk side by side with Baekhyun who waits for him. He’s already facing him when he looks up, and a knowing smirk threatens to make its way to his face.
“Change of plans?”
They make it to the campsite by sundown, skies turning into an array of pinks and blues above them. Meat is passed around and pierced through barbecue sticks once they form a circle across the fire pit. Kyungsoo watches the flames burst into embers in front of his eyes. He tries his best to blend in with the group of five, memorising names inside his head as he matches them to the faces he’d been introduced to earlier.
Baekhyun sits comfortably next to him and hands him a beer. Chanyeol-the tall baritone-takes the space next to his boyfriend, casually bringing an arm around him while chugging on his own can of Coke. It feels oddly shameful to be drinking alcohol in the company of three pilots and a flight attendant on flight duty, but they didn’t seem to care.
There is little conversation directed to Kyungsoo, and he hopes it stays that way. He didn't want to have to explain things and talk about himself. Conversations have always been a hard limit for him. Instead, Kyungsoo listens to the excited chattering around the fire as his gaze lands shortly on the ocean beyond the coastline.
Kyungsoo sees Jongin past the flames. He’s changed into more casual clothes-a plain white shirt paired with dark blue jeans and sneakers. He’s engrossed in talks with two of the new faces he’d met, Sehun and Luhan, laughing at something funny they’ve said. Kyungsoo can’t hear them, but a small smile threatens to form in the side of his mouth.
It’s these moments that Kyungsoo enjoys seeing the most-moments where contagious laughter spring about somewhere in a lovely town-wondering when he would be able to create some of his own.
“He’s a charmer, isn’t he?”
He’s pulled out from his reverie and led to stare at the person beside him. Baekhyun looks pointedly towards the pilot’s direction before facing him, a smug smile crossed on his face. “Jongin. He wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t know you. What happened to me being your only friend?”
Kyungsoo watches the way Jongin’s eyes crinkle and turn into thin curved lines, almost resembling tiny crescents.
“We’ve only just met,” Kyungsoo reiterates. “He doesn’t know me.”
Kyungsoo thinks they were barely even acquaintances - just two people stumbling into coincidences.
“Not to me,” Baekhyun counters. “Not with how he looks at you.”
Kyungsoo’s face changes, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo asks.
Baekhyun responds with a quick lift of his shoulders. “I don’t know how to explain it, but the way he looks at you is strange, seems like he’s been waiting for you as if you were a sign from somewhere in the sky. I haven’t seen him this way since-”
He stops talking, as if he’s choked on water. Kyungsoo senses there’s more to what he is telling him, but decides not to push things further. Kyungsoo thinks about the way Jongin had looked at him outside the Jeju airport-familiar and hopeful. There had been a flash of something else in his eyes, something he couldn’t comprehend.
He can still see Jongin through the flames, doubling over in laughter while Sehun and Luhan laugh along with him.
It doesn’t take long when Jongin’s eyes find its way past the flames to meet his. There’s something about the way the fire casts a marigold glow to his face that piques Kyungsoo’s curiosity.
When the pilot regards him with a smile -soft and genuine-he doesn’t find it all that difficult to return.
Kyungsoo stares into pitch black, lying awake as sleep evades him completely. The other campers have fallen asleep in their own tents while he occupied a spare, the quiet of the night keeping him company. Wind breezes through and leaves goosebumps upon his skin as he shifts in his position, furling inside the sleeping bag and closing his eyes.
Seconds drag into minutes; minutes feel like hours. The darkness within the confines of the tent almost suffocate him, and right now he wants nothing else but for the sun to soon take over.
Kyungsoo decides to head out. He crawls out from the cot, getting up to slip into his windbreaker before he unzips the tent.
As soon as he steps outside, the cool October air kisses his face and causes a shiver to run along the length of his spine. A midnight sky greets Kyungsoo when he looks up-a dark canvas of infinite constellations. He thinks about the times he’d spent on his balcony with Baekhyun, looking at the same stars as the one shining above him right now. It’s no wonder why some people preferred to stay outside.
Kyungsoo leaves the campsite and trudges into the woods. He walks in cautious but heavy steps, his feet landing on the grass with a loud crunch. It’s dark, but he keeps the flashlight switched on in his phone, waving it around as it illuminates the forest.
Minutes pass as Kyungsoo wanders aimlessly through the darkness and past the trees, leaves swaying to the wind’s hums. He doesn’t know how far he’s gone from the campsite, but when his legs start to ache, he knows he’s been away longer than he intended.
He walks farther into the woods in deep contemplation. The amount of thoughts spiralling in his head is unnerving, so coming into the forest seemed like an unconstrained way to run away from it. It reaches a point when the wind suddenly stops and the air turns stale, but the hairs on the back of his neck rise when he thinks he hears more footsteps than his own, unwelcome thoughts of being followed by someone coming to mind.
“Kyungsoo?”
The voice is closer than he expects, but Kyungsoo is quick to turn around. Shock easily comes to him in quick rhythmic heartbeats. Startled, he yelps and throws his arms up as his phone flies out from his grasp.
Kyungsoo reaches for the gadget just as another hand snatches it. He takes the person’s hand, pointing the light of his phone towards his face to meet a pair of eyes looking back at him.
Jongin’s hand feels soft and warm in his own as he asks, “What are you doing here at three in the morning?”
The beating his heart make normalizes, and Kyungsoo releases Jongin’s hand before taking his phone back. It’s only then that he realizes that Jongin had also kept a flashlight in his other hand, flashing it right in front of Kyungsoo’s face before switching it off and bringing his hand down. He wants to ask Jongin the same thing, knowing he’d made it deep into the forest and caught him, but if Jongin hadn’t arrived, he’d be going in circles and will have to wait until the sky brightens.
“I was just about to head back,” Kyungsoo tells him.
“Right,” Jongin muses with a grin. “I didn’t think I would run into anyone in here. It’d be hard to return to the campsite at this time, but I guess what some people say is true-maybe you need to get lost sometimes so you can be found.” Kyungsoo wonders if he means something more by what he said, but he knew that wasn’t the case for him.
“And now you’re here for some fresh air, I assume?” Kyungsoo comments.
“You could say that,” Jongin quips. He juts his chin towards the direction past Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “I remembered seeing a road over there. We passed it before making it to the campsite. There’s also an olle trail that leads to Sunrise Peak, right next to the coastline. I wanted to make sure I come back for it, since this might be the only time I have before I leave for duty.”
A brief silence hangs loosely in the air as Kyungsoo stands awkwardly in front of Jongin. He can’t see much of Jongin’s face with the limited light, but Kyungsoo almost mistakes the way his eyes seem to stare into his, as if he was waiting for him to do something.
Instead, Kyungsoo prepares to leave before the silence could drag on any longer.
“Well then,” he drawls, “I guess I’ll just see you later.”
The light leaves Jongin’s face as Kyungsoo walks slowly past him, towards the other direction. He’s steps away when he hears the pilot speak.
“There’s about two more hours until the sun comes up, and it’s an hour long hike from the trail. It might take longer depending on our speed, but I think we’ll have enough time.”
Kyungsoo turns to meet expectant eyes in the darkness, still waiting. He wonders how it could be so easy for him to show parts of himself to the world-honest thoughts and pleasant smiles-when parts such as his own were difficult to give to anyone else.
He hasn’t found what he was looking for, but when the light in his hand casts a soft glow to his face, he finds that the sun is closer than it seems.
Chasing the sun turns out to be much harder than he thought.
“You’ve got to be kidding me right now.”
Kyungsoo bends down to grasp his knees, breathing hard as Jongin informs him about their hike reaching an hour and a half. He remembers struggling through the first sixty minutes, taking breaks in between so he could try and catch his breath while Jongin searched for trail markers. It was still dark when they started the trail, but the night sky had faded little by little on the way, with hues of blue and purple peeking slowly from the horizon as they passed views of the sea and tiny villages.
“I think we’re close,” Jongin says as he rests a hand on his shoulder, weighing him down a bit. “The marker read another kilometer.”
“You just said this five minutes ago,” Kyungsoo states, still breathless. “I can’t feel my legs.”
“Just a bit more, Kyungsoo,” he assures him. “We can’t miss out on something like this. Not now. Come on, trust me a little.”
“I think I’ve done enough trusting for today,” Kyungsoo groans.
“Well, you can definitely trust me when I say I won’t hop inside your cab,” Jongin teases, and Kyungsoo manages to look up and glare at him.
Jongin flashes him an innocent smile and pats him on the back, saying, “It’s just a few more steps.”
That was a lie.
Sweat drips down Kyungsoo’s temples as they climb up the seemingly endless flight of wooden stairs. He reaches a point when he almost feels like puking and his legs are about to give out below him, but Jongin is determined to reach the top and he’s lost all of his strength to complain. They keep climbing.
Kyungsoo takes one more step before letting his knees drop to the ground, hands pressed down on the cemented surface. He exhales harshly and lets out a loud sigh.
“I can’t do this.”
“Kyungsoo,” Jongin calls but he waves him off.
“You go ahead,” he tells him, “I’ll just wait here.”
“But we made it.”
He looks up at Jongin, a proud smile drawn on his lips. “What?”
“We made it, Kyungsoo.”
He lifts himself off from the ground and looks straight ahead.
The sight is absolutely breathtaking. There were no signs of other tourists or locals around, so they stand together perched on the edge where they can see the concave crater surrounded in bodies of water, absorbing as much of the picturesque scenery as possible before the sun rises.
It begins as a small rosy glow beneath the deep blue sea, soon turning into streams of light that paint the sky with a golden haze. As the sun ascends, Kyungsoo is filled with an overwhelming sense of astonishment.
There is something much more special about the sunrise in a beautiful setting. Kyungsoo thinks it must be the promise of a new day with endless possibilities.
“Hey.”
Kyungsoo realizes that Jongin had been silent all along. He turns to him, already staring back at him with another one of his warm smiles. “Thanks,” Jongin says.
“For what?”
“For giving this moment a chance,” Jongin says simply. “And for sharing this moment with me.”
The sun creates the illusion of a halo around Jongin, and it is only then-with Jongin and the sunrise-does Kyungsoo find what he’s been looking for. He smiles.
A moment.
(2/4)
Pairing/Main characters: Kai/D.O
Word Count: 25,515 words
Warning(s): slight drug use, minor character death(?)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: a story about getting lost, falling in love, and hopping inside taxi cabs.
Author's Note: Another crosspost because I want to feel organized lmao. You can find the playlists here: to promise the world / tu me manques (b-side)
P A R I S , F R A N C E
✈︎
Kyungsoo does not see this coming.
As soon as the clouds shroud in the sky and the rain starts to pour, it becomes Kyungsoo’s signal to run for cover, using his hands as a makeshift shield to keep him from getting wet. Being in the worst of circumstances, this, of course, does not help.
It had only been an hour ago since Kyungsoo stood in front of the Eiffel Tower, bidding it goodbye. The famous monument he had once seen in photos and in films seemed too good to be true, but when the storm decides to take over the clear skies and invades the city of Paris, it only proves things otherwise.
Kyungsoo learns this the hard way, under the roof of a restaurant he can’t pronounce with soaked clothes and a very wet backpack. He has approximately two hours to spare before he flies back to Seoul, and another five minutes to think about how to get to the airport in time.
At this point, Kyungsoo thinks the best decision is to hail a cab, only this would bring even more problems because (1) Even if he could run in the rain to find a taxi stand, he’s about thirty meters away from the closest one, (2) He could try calling for a nearby taxi stand, but doesn’t have the slightest idea of where he is right now, and (3) He can’t speak french.
The third problem is understandable. The first two, admittedly, are a result due to lack of preparation and plain stupidity.
The rain continues to fall hard and heavy, and the chances of a cab stopping for Kyungsoo under this drastic weather become zero to none. There are no cabs driving around the area. He doesn’t even see people running in the rain without an umbrella over their heads. If Kyungsoo leaves his current position right now, he just might be one of the first.
The sky darkens and time continues to move, but Kyungsoo refuses to stay in one place. He waits for the rain to lessen and prepares to leave the restaurant.
He charges into the rain as he pulls the hood of his jacket over his head, thinking why hadn’t he thought of this sooner.
He runs mindlessly down the streets-taking left and right turns down sidewalks-but he still has no clue as to where he is. He tries to retrace his steps from when he was last in front of the Eiffel Tower and along Avenue Gustave Eiffel. His mind betrays him when he recalls nothing after that except travelling on foot with no destination. He could use his phone and search for a map, but he didn’t want to risk getting it wet and losing a phone in the process. He’s tried asking locals about where he is, but they don’t seem to understand Korean all too well and walk past him instead.
He could think of several other ways. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Kyungsoo was bordering the line between desperate and hopeless.
Kyungsoo’s mind yells at him in panic, asking a question that’s been at the back of his head as to why he even thought of travelling six thousand miles away from Seoul.
He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. Panicking wasn’t going to help solve anything at this moment.
Kyungsoo stands under the rain doing absolutely nothing. What he does, however, is sits things through on the edge of a sidewalk. Who knows, maybe a cab will just magically appear in front of him.
Whether it was coincidence or fate, a cab passes in front of him.
He doesn’t complain about the cab almost running his feet over and only missing by an inch. The moment he sees the window of opportunity, he seizes it.
Kyungsoo stands on his feet and waves frantically as the cab drives away from him. He runs with his heart beating fast in his chest and the adrenaline rush taking over his body when he chases it to the middle of the street.
There are only a number of people who notice Kyungsoo, but he couldn't care less. The most important thing to him right now is making it to the airport in time for his flight. So is his life, except Kyungsoo doesn’t think about that when he catches up to the side of the cab, breaking into a sprint and lunging forward. The vehicle comes to a complete stop, meters away from a possible accident.
He’s sure he heard someone scream having witnessed the scene, but as soon as the cab had stopped in front of him, there wasn’t a lot of time he could waste.
Kyungsoo quickly steps inside the cab without any more thought. The leather seat feels comfortable when he leans his back against it, a loud sigh escaping his lips as he closes his eyes. He tries to drown out all other noise, especially the taxi man yelling-perhaps cursing him to hell-to breathe in his temporary peace.
Until another voice caves in.
“You do realize that the red light on top of the cab means it’s taken, don’t you?”
Kyungsoo turns to the voice, the one next to him inside the taxi. He can’t make out the man’s face inside the cab, but the faint light from the sky is enough for him to register the badges on his uniform and the cap resting on top of his lap.
The taxi stays still in the middle of the road, raindrops pattering against the car windows. Kyungsoo doesn’t move.
“Are you going to ask me to leave?” he asks.
“That depends,” the man says. “Where are you heading to?”
“The airport.”
“Which one?” he inquires.
“Charles de Gaulle,” Kyungsoo answers.
There’s a brief moment of silence before the taxi man speaks again.
“Ou voulez-vous aller maintenant?”
He doesn’t understand what he’s asking, but he waits nervously for the other man’s reply. The man is unfazed as he looks back at him, but he doesn’t miss the way he stares questioningly at him and his drenched clothes.
“L'aéroport charles de gaulle, s'il vous plaît,” he says, eyes unwavering from his.
The taxi man looks over his shoulder-to Kyungsoo and to the man next to him-before stepping on the gas pedal. He drives.
Kyungsoo feels his body give away from exhaustion, but he can’t help but smile even in his tired state. Instantly, he laughs. He laughs because he was unprepared, and only he can have such terrible luck. He glances at the man beside him and mutters a soft thank you.
He doesn’t stay awake long enough to hear the man’s response, and before he knows it, the world disappears in front of him.
S E O U L , S O U T H K O R E A
✈︎
“Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”
They are settled on chairs outside Kyungsoo’s balcony when the cool night air brushes over their skin, beer cans even cooler in their hands from which Baekhyun had pulled out from his plastic bag.
It doesn’t happen often, but Kyungsoo’s neighbour would knock on his apartment door in the evening to have a drink or two under the stars (Kyungsoo happened to have a really good view of them from his unit).
Kyungsoo had just moved in from his foster home the first time it happened. It was both intruding and annoying, but it was a tiny apartment and Baekhyun’s presence was too loud for the silence. It took a great deal of patience for Kyungsoo to come around, and eventually, he didn’t seem to mind-or more like he tolerated it.
Tonight is not any different. Kyungsoo had finished preparing for tomorrow’s Jeju trip when Baekhyun knocked on his door, except tonight not only does treat him with a beer, he also asks to meet up with him at Jeju and camp out together.
Kyungsoo takes a sip of his drink before asking, “Is there a reason why I should?”
“There are two, actually,” Baekhyun says before enumerating, “First is you being my friend.”
The taste is bitter on Kyungsoo’s tongue, but that’s not why he frowns.
“Don’t you have other friends going with you?’ he bemuses.
“Just a few, plus my boyfriend who’ll be staying overnight on pilot duty. There’s always room for one more, which is why I’m asking you to join us. As a matter of fact, I actually think you’d get along great with them.”
“I’m not so sure about that. It doesn’t look like we’re getting along right now,” Kyungsoo teases.
There’s nothing to say about Baekhyun calling him his ‘friend’, but they weren’t exactly unfamiliar to each other either. They lived in the same building-not to mention Baekhyun living right below his apartment unit. Kyungsoo likes to think he’s the closest thing to an extrovert life. He’s not so bad, but maybe it’s because Kyungsoo had no one else. They shared similar thoughts about most things, and he was a fairly logical person to talk to. If trust was a main factor to friendship, then maybe they were friends after all.
“The second reason might help you change your mind,” Baekhyun says.
“Which is?”
“You’re alone.”
Kyungsoo laughs. That doesn’t help at all.
“All the more reason why I shouldn’t join you,” Kyungsoo tells him. “I’m always alone.”
“And how’d that go again? Do you want to tell me again how that worked out for you in Paris?”
Baekhyun knew most stories about his recent trip: from how he lost his way in the middle of a storm, all the way down to reaching the airport in half-dry clothes and racing to the terminal fifteen minutes before his flight. The more Kyungsoo thought about it, the more he thinks his circumstances had been far more better than not arriving at all. He would have missed his flight if it weren’t for that lucky cab ride and the stranger he shared it with.
Kyungsoo looks over to the side to spot a yellow umbrella leaning at the wall of his balcony.
“I did have help, you know.”
Out of all the things he mentioned to Baekhyun, he’d left out one important detail. It was when he woke up to the taxi man’s relentless screaming did he realize that the stranger had ran off. He didn’t know the stranger’s name. He couldn’t even remember his face. The only memory of him was the yellow umbrella he’d left with him inside the cab, a note lazily stuck to it in clear handwriting:
I’m gonna need the umbrella and ask you to pay me back someday.
For now, don’t be late.
“I know that,” Baekhyun says, downing his can of beer and swallowing before he continues to speak. “I just think that you should stop running away from it. We all need a little help sometimes, Kyungsoo.”
Kyungsoo disagrees, but doesn’t mention it. He knows he can make it on his own, and he will continue to do so.
Words are left unsaid as they continue to stare into the flurry of stars lighting up the cold Seoul night.
S E O G W I P O , J E J U
✈︎
Kyungsoo emerges from the airport terminal minutes after landing and swiftly passing immigration. He exits the gate, tugging both straps of his backpack with his hands and hugging them tightly to his chest as he makes his way over to a taxi stand he spots at the corner. He’s the first in line but doesn’t see a single taxi parked, so instead of leaving, he stays in his place and uses this time to bring out a map and see which places to visit.
Just as he reads a tourist guide at the bottom of the map, another man approaches the line and stands next to him.
Kyungsoo’s head shoots up on instinct, and turns to see a tall brunet dressed in a pilot’s uniform. He doesn’t know him, but he wonders why the pilot is suddenly staring at him with a deliberate smile present on his face. He thinks nothing of it at first, quietly turning back to his map. Seconds pass when the man’s stare continues to pierce through him from peripheral view, and it makes him feel uncomfortable.
Kyungsoo lifts his head once more, looking back at him.
“Can I… help you with something?” Kyungsoo asks, conscious from the attention he’s getting. “Is there something on my face?”
The pilot chuckles, but the accusatory look on his face entails something more. It almost seems as if he recognises him and had stolen something from him that he needed back.
“No,” he answers, “I just couldn't help but notice how you look more dried up than I remember.”
Kyungsoo’s brows furrow in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“I see that you actually did make it to your flight.”
Kyungsoo does not follow at all. The pilot gauges Kyungsoo’s face for a reaction, but finds none.
“Paris, three weeks ago?” the pilot reminds. “The storm, wet clothes? Charles de Gaulle?”
Realization dawns on Kyungsoo, and his eyes almost grow double in size.
Don’t be late.
“Do you really not remember?”
A curse slips out from Kyungsoo’s mouth in disbelief. It’s quick and low, but it’s enough for the pilot to hear and cock an eyebrow at him. Kyungsoo realizes this and quickly blurts out, “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that-it really didn’t mean anything, I just..” He sighs. “I am so sorry. I honestly didn’t think I’d come across you here.”
It was the truth, Kyungsoo didn’t think he’d be able to come across him again. Ever.
A wave of laughter breaks from his face and he grins. “I’m a pilot, if it helps. Let’s just say you’re most likely to see me anywhere. I thought I was setting myself up for embarrassment when you couldn’t remember.”
If there was anyone who should be embarrassed, it was Kyungsoo. He didn’t think he would be able to forget that day without wanting the ground to swallow him up.
“It’s not exactly something I would easily forget,” Kyungsoo says.
“Absolutely,” he agrees. “I mean, I don’t think I’ll be able to forget the face of a cabnapper.”
“Did you just call me a ‘cabnapper’?” Kyungsoo asks, slightly offended. “It was an honest mistake. I don’t even think that’s a word.”
“It is now,” he teases, “but hey, I was just trying to be funny, okay? I guess funny doesn’t really work for me.”
Kyungsoo is not easily amused, but he catches himself smiling at the pilot and offering his free hand out to him. “I’m Kyungsoo.”
The pilot takes glances between Kyungsoo and his hand, then nods in acknowledgement as he takes it.
“Well, Kyungsoo, call me Jongin,” he introduces, shaking his hand and bringing it back to his side. “Uhm, I’m not the kind of person to mention these kind of things, but bumping into you suddenly makes me think about the note I left.”
Kyungsoo wishes he’d forgotten about the note, but it was only fair that he paid him back.
“Of course. Let me just..” He leaves his sentence unfinished as he shrugs the strap of his backpack off from his shoulder, then seizes it in front of him and unzips the pocket. “I don’t have your umbrella right now, but I can pay for your ride.”
“You don't need to right now, you can do that once we get inside the cab.”
Kyungsoo stops to look at the implying smile resting on Jongin’s face.
“Oh,” Kyungsoo says, “I can't-”
“You know, the last time I saw you, you were alone,” Jongin tells him, “by any chance, are you meeting anyone today?"
Kyungsoo doesn't even need to think about his answer.
“No. I’m not meeting anyone,” he firmly says.
Jongin nods. ”Okay. And have you been to Jeju before? Do you have any plans or specific places you want to see?”
Kyungsoo glances at the map in his hand with a pout, his eyes landing back on the pilot.
"Far from it, actually,” he mutters.
“Good,” Jongin says. “I’m meeting people downtown to camp out with them until the end of my layoff.”
Kyungsoo has a feeling he’s not going to like where this is heading, but he listens. He wonders what Jongin is trying to get at when he keeps eye contact, lips forming something akin to a smile.
“You should come with me.”
“Wait, what?”
“If you're going to act spontaneous, it’d be nice to start downtown,” Jongin tells him. “Also, it’ll cost you less if you share a cab with me. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Kyungsoo wants to tell him that he didn't mind spending a little more. He could care less about the amount of cash he had in his pocket. He thinks it would be easy to avoid this as much as possible. All he needs to do is politely decline Jongin's offer and just pay for his ride.
“I don’t think I can,” Kyungsoo rejects immediately.
“Why not?” Jongin asks.
“I’m just not comfortable,” Kyungsoo tries to explain. Instead, it comes off as something unsure, as if it was something he frequently tells himself. But comfortable is familiar. He hopes it would be enough reason for Jongin to keep to himself, but the look on his face seems unconvinced.
“Comfortable, huh?” Jongin ponders, “That didn’t seem to be much of a problem at Paris when you were almost run over and coming inside my taxi.”
“Paris was different. It was-“
“An honest mistake, I get it.”
When they see a taxi soon approaching their direction, Kyungsoo suddenly feels cornered.
“I don’t want to force you into anything,” Jongin tells him, “but sometimes, you’ll find the most beautiful places outside of being comfortable.”
Kyungsoo casts Jongin an apologetic smile.
“I can still pay for your fare,” Kyungsoo offers, but before he can pull his wallet out of his backpack, Jongin already dismisses him with a wave.
“I change my mind.” Jongin says, “You don’t need to pay me anymore.”
When Kyungsoo looks up, Jongin is meters apart from him, glancing at the taxi approaching them before his eyes fall back on him. It’s surprising, how he’s never seen anyone gaze at him with such determination in their eyes.
“But if I open the door, will you come in?”
Kyungsoo tenses. Jongin stands meters away in front of him, holding a gaze that’s almost mistaken as something similar to longing.
"We’re not strangers, Kyungsoo,” Jongin tells him, "We don't need to be."
Words are caught in Kyungsoo’s throat as the anxiety kicks in just like every other time people try to help him. As soon as he thinks of doing something unconventional, the fear of change consumes him.
He doesn’t understand why someone he’s encountered only twice in his life had even the slightest bit of concern about the choices he makes. He didn’t need anyone to decide about what he was going to do with his life when he’d done it all on his own for twenty four years.
Kyungsoo stands frozen in his place saying nothing else. Seconds pass, and Jongin takes this as a sign to give up. He shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head as a sigh escapes his lips. Kyungsoo doesn’t miss the mild disappointment in Jongin’s eyes when he sends him a rueful grin.
Kyungsoo remembers Paris and the note Jongin had left him along with his yellow umbrella. He remembers Baekhyun in his balcony saying we all need a little more help sometimes.
The taxi comes to a full stop in front of them, and Kyungsoo watches as Jongin steps back from him.
But as soon as the pilot turns away, he thinks maybe it wouldn’t hurt to know why.
It takes a courageous amount of seconds before Kyungsoo steps out of his comfort zone, reaching for the door the same time Jongin does.
Jongin stills when Kyungsoo’s hand covers his own. He faces him slowly, regarding him with a surprised look.
“I um-” Kyungsoo has to clear his throat before continuing, “I mean, for what it’s worth, I do owe you.”
A smile grows on the pilot’s lips.
Seogwipo welcomes them in the southern part of Jeju-do. The town consists of run-down businesses and old buildings along the rocky coastline, lush parks punctuated within the city. He remembered when the taxi driver had sparked a conversation with Jongin on their way there, talking about common landmarks and famous sights. Kyungsoo had kept silent throughout the whole ride but listened enthusiastically.
They stand by the coast where boats are moored to the end of a dock, watching the cab drive away while locals and other tourists walk past them. The air smells like a combination of rocks and a bit of the ocean, the temperature being moderately warm on a late sunny afternoon.
Kyungsoo’s black cotton shirt sticks uncomfortably to his skin, but when he turns to glance at Jongin, beads of sweat trailing down the sides of his face all the way down to his neck, he doesn’t complain.
“They should be here anytime now,” Jongin tells him, tugging at the collar of his uniform several times to cool himself. “They’ve just finished visiting the botanical garden. It’ll take them a few more minutes to get here in walking distance.”
“Okay,” Kyungsoo says. The air is quiet again, but he would rather listen to the sound of small waves hitting the ocean than say anything else.
“Comfortable yet?” Jongin asks. “I didn’t think you’d take my offer.”
“It’s because I owed you,” Kyungsoo answers calmly.
“And I appreciate it. But it must have been hard for you to do what you did today.” Jongin glances with an apologetic smile. “You don’t seem to be easily persuaded in hanging out with people. I can’t help but wonder what really changed your mind.”
Kyungsoo wonders the same thing. Even now, he still wasn’t sure about why he had chosen to hop in the same cab with the pilot at the last minute, and for the second time.
“I guess I-”
“Hey, Captain!”
Kyungsoo can’t see the person calling from where he stood and with Jongin in front of him, but the voice almost sounds like the same person in his balcony just yesterday.
He doesn’t look when Jongin greets him back.
“Hey.”
“How’s it going? You brought someone with you?”
The voice is much closer now, and Kyungsoo has to take a sidestep to see the person looking back at him with disbelief written all over his face.
“Kyungsoo?”
Baekhyun brushes past Jongin and pulls him into a bear hug before he does anything to avoid it.
“I know we talked about Jeju last night, but you didn’t tell me you were planning to hit the south as well!” Baekhyun exclaims, pulling away from him to grip his shoulders in excitement.
“I wasn’t,” Kyungsoo grimaces. When he peers over Baekhyun’s shoulder, it’s only then that he notices a fresh face taking his place next to Jongin, the latter only staring back at him with an amused grin.
“I met him at the airport and invited him to camp out with us,” Jongin tells Baekhyun, eyes never leaving Kyungsoo’s. “He didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“We should probably get going then,” a voice suggests. The deep baritone standing next to Jongin is tall, with slightly narrow shoulders. “Sehun and Luhan found a clearing close to Seongsan. They’ve probably finished pitching the tents.”
“Huh,” Baekhyun says dumbfoundedly. He releases his hold on Kyungsoo then gives Jongin a pat on the back.
Jongin and the tall baritone walk straight ahead, leaving Kyungsoo to walk side by side with Baekhyun who waits for him. He’s already facing him when he looks up, and a knowing smirk threatens to make its way to his face.
“Change of plans?”
They make it to the campsite by sundown, skies turning into an array of pinks and blues above them. Meat is passed around and pierced through barbecue sticks once they form a circle across the fire pit. Kyungsoo watches the flames burst into embers in front of his eyes. He tries his best to blend in with the group of five, memorising names inside his head as he matches them to the faces he’d been introduced to earlier.
Baekhyun sits comfortably next to him and hands him a beer. Chanyeol-the tall baritone-takes the space next to his boyfriend, casually bringing an arm around him while chugging on his own can of Coke. It feels oddly shameful to be drinking alcohol in the company of three pilots and a flight attendant on flight duty, but they didn’t seem to care.
There is little conversation directed to Kyungsoo, and he hopes it stays that way. He didn't want to have to explain things and talk about himself. Conversations have always been a hard limit for him. Instead, Kyungsoo listens to the excited chattering around the fire as his gaze lands shortly on the ocean beyond the coastline.
Kyungsoo sees Jongin past the flames. He’s changed into more casual clothes-a plain white shirt paired with dark blue jeans and sneakers. He’s engrossed in talks with two of the new faces he’d met, Sehun and Luhan, laughing at something funny they’ve said. Kyungsoo can’t hear them, but a small smile threatens to form in the side of his mouth.
It’s these moments that Kyungsoo enjoys seeing the most-moments where contagious laughter spring about somewhere in a lovely town-wondering when he would be able to create some of his own.
“He’s a charmer, isn’t he?”
He’s pulled out from his reverie and led to stare at the person beside him. Baekhyun looks pointedly towards the pilot’s direction before facing him, a smug smile crossed on his face. “Jongin. He wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t know you. What happened to me being your only friend?”
Kyungsoo watches the way Jongin’s eyes crinkle and turn into thin curved lines, almost resembling tiny crescents.
“We’ve only just met,” Kyungsoo reiterates. “He doesn’t know me.”
Kyungsoo thinks they were barely even acquaintances - just two people stumbling into coincidences.
“Not to me,” Baekhyun counters. “Not with how he looks at you.”
Kyungsoo’s face changes, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
“What do you mean?” Kyungsoo asks.
Baekhyun responds with a quick lift of his shoulders. “I don’t know how to explain it, but the way he looks at you is strange, seems like he’s been waiting for you as if you were a sign from somewhere in the sky. I haven’t seen him this way since-”
He stops talking, as if he’s choked on water. Kyungsoo senses there’s more to what he is telling him, but decides not to push things further. Kyungsoo thinks about the way Jongin had looked at him outside the Jeju airport-familiar and hopeful. There had been a flash of something else in his eyes, something he couldn’t comprehend.
He can still see Jongin through the flames, doubling over in laughter while Sehun and Luhan laugh along with him.
It doesn’t take long when Jongin’s eyes find its way past the flames to meet his. There’s something about the way the fire casts a marigold glow to his face that piques Kyungsoo’s curiosity.
When the pilot regards him with a smile -soft and genuine-he doesn’t find it all that difficult to return.
Kyungsoo stares into pitch black, lying awake as sleep evades him completely. The other campers have fallen asleep in their own tents while he occupied a spare, the quiet of the night keeping him company. Wind breezes through and leaves goosebumps upon his skin as he shifts in his position, furling inside the sleeping bag and closing his eyes.
Seconds drag into minutes; minutes feel like hours. The darkness within the confines of the tent almost suffocate him, and right now he wants nothing else but for the sun to soon take over.
Kyungsoo decides to head out. He crawls out from the cot, getting up to slip into his windbreaker before he unzips the tent.
As soon as he steps outside, the cool October air kisses his face and causes a shiver to run along the length of his spine. A midnight sky greets Kyungsoo when he looks up-a dark canvas of infinite constellations. He thinks about the times he’d spent on his balcony with Baekhyun, looking at the same stars as the one shining above him right now. It’s no wonder why some people preferred to stay outside.
Kyungsoo leaves the campsite and trudges into the woods. He walks in cautious but heavy steps, his feet landing on the grass with a loud crunch. It’s dark, but he keeps the flashlight switched on in his phone, waving it around as it illuminates the forest.
Minutes pass as Kyungsoo wanders aimlessly through the darkness and past the trees, leaves swaying to the wind’s hums. He doesn’t know how far he’s gone from the campsite, but when his legs start to ache, he knows he’s been away longer than he intended.
He walks farther into the woods in deep contemplation. The amount of thoughts spiralling in his head is unnerving, so coming into the forest seemed like an unconstrained way to run away from it. It reaches a point when the wind suddenly stops and the air turns stale, but the hairs on the back of his neck rise when he thinks he hears more footsteps than his own, unwelcome thoughts of being followed by someone coming to mind.
“Kyungsoo?”
The voice is closer than he expects, but Kyungsoo is quick to turn around. Shock easily comes to him in quick rhythmic heartbeats. Startled, he yelps and throws his arms up as his phone flies out from his grasp.
Kyungsoo reaches for the gadget just as another hand snatches it. He takes the person’s hand, pointing the light of his phone towards his face to meet a pair of eyes looking back at him.
Jongin’s hand feels soft and warm in his own as he asks, “What are you doing here at three in the morning?”
The beating his heart make normalizes, and Kyungsoo releases Jongin’s hand before taking his phone back. It’s only then that he realizes that Jongin had also kept a flashlight in his other hand, flashing it right in front of Kyungsoo’s face before switching it off and bringing his hand down. He wants to ask Jongin the same thing, knowing he’d made it deep into the forest and caught him, but if Jongin hadn’t arrived, he’d be going in circles and will have to wait until the sky brightens.
“I was just about to head back,” Kyungsoo tells him.
“Right,” Jongin muses with a grin. “I didn’t think I would run into anyone in here. It’d be hard to return to the campsite at this time, but I guess what some people say is true-maybe you need to get lost sometimes so you can be found.” Kyungsoo wonders if he means something more by what he said, but he knew that wasn’t the case for him.
“And now you’re here for some fresh air, I assume?” Kyungsoo comments.
“You could say that,” Jongin quips. He juts his chin towards the direction past Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “I remembered seeing a road over there. We passed it before making it to the campsite. There’s also an olle trail that leads to Sunrise Peak, right next to the coastline. I wanted to make sure I come back for it, since this might be the only time I have before I leave for duty.”
A brief silence hangs loosely in the air as Kyungsoo stands awkwardly in front of Jongin. He can’t see much of Jongin’s face with the limited light, but Kyungsoo almost mistakes the way his eyes seem to stare into his, as if he was waiting for him to do something.
Instead, Kyungsoo prepares to leave before the silence could drag on any longer.
“Well then,” he drawls, “I guess I’ll just see you later.”
The light leaves Jongin’s face as Kyungsoo walks slowly past him, towards the other direction. He’s steps away when he hears the pilot speak.
“There’s about two more hours until the sun comes up, and it’s an hour long hike from the trail. It might take longer depending on our speed, but I think we’ll have enough time.”
Kyungsoo turns to meet expectant eyes in the darkness, still waiting. He wonders how it could be so easy for him to show parts of himself to the world-honest thoughts and pleasant smiles-when parts such as his own were difficult to give to anyone else.
He hasn’t found what he was looking for, but when the light in his hand casts a soft glow to his face, he finds that the sun is closer than it seems.
Chasing the sun turns out to be much harder than he thought.
“You’ve got to be kidding me right now.”
Kyungsoo bends down to grasp his knees, breathing hard as Jongin informs him about their hike reaching an hour and a half. He remembers struggling through the first sixty minutes, taking breaks in between so he could try and catch his breath while Jongin searched for trail markers. It was still dark when they started the trail, but the night sky had faded little by little on the way, with hues of blue and purple peeking slowly from the horizon as they passed views of the sea and tiny villages.
“I think we’re close,” Jongin says as he rests a hand on his shoulder, weighing him down a bit. “The marker read another kilometer.”
“You just said this five minutes ago,” Kyungsoo states, still breathless. “I can’t feel my legs.”
“Just a bit more, Kyungsoo,” he assures him. “We can’t miss out on something like this. Not now. Come on, trust me a little.”
“I think I’ve done enough trusting for today,” Kyungsoo groans.
“Well, you can definitely trust me when I say I won’t hop inside your cab,” Jongin teases, and Kyungsoo manages to look up and glare at him.
Jongin flashes him an innocent smile and pats him on the back, saying, “It’s just a few more steps.”
That was a lie.
Sweat drips down Kyungsoo’s temples as they climb up the seemingly endless flight of wooden stairs. He reaches a point when he almost feels like puking and his legs are about to give out below him, but Jongin is determined to reach the top and he’s lost all of his strength to complain. They keep climbing.
Kyungsoo takes one more step before letting his knees drop to the ground, hands pressed down on the cemented surface. He exhales harshly and lets out a loud sigh.
“I can’t do this.”
“Kyungsoo,” Jongin calls but he waves him off.
“You go ahead,” he tells him, “I’ll just wait here.”
“But we made it.”
He looks up at Jongin, a proud smile drawn on his lips. “What?”
“We made it, Kyungsoo.”
He lifts himself off from the ground and looks straight ahead.
The sight is absolutely breathtaking. There were no signs of other tourists or locals around, so they stand together perched on the edge where they can see the concave crater surrounded in bodies of water, absorbing as much of the picturesque scenery as possible before the sun rises.
It begins as a small rosy glow beneath the deep blue sea, soon turning into streams of light that paint the sky with a golden haze. As the sun ascends, Kyungsoo is filled with an overwhelming sense of astonishment.
There is something much more special about the sunrise in a beautiful setting. Kyungsoo thinks it must be the promise of a new day with endless possibilities.
“Hey.”
Kyungsoo realizes that Jongin had been silent all along. He turns to him, already staring back at him with another one of his warm smiles. “Thanks,” Jongin says.
“For what?”
“For giving this moment a chance,” Jongin says simply. “And for sharing this moment with me.”
The sun creates the illusion of a halo around Jongin, and it is only then-with Jongin and the sunrise-does Kyungsoo find what he’s been looking for. He smiles.
A moment.
(2/4)